Objective In palliative care, technical aids such as ECG are employed sparingly to avoid interference with the provision of care. At the same time, it is vital to recognise symptoms, whereas many patients are unable to express themselves. This study is the first investigation into a radar-based, non-contact monitoring of respiratory rate in palliative care patients. Methods In a prospective study, radar-based monitoring of respiratory rate was evaluated in comparison with a gold standard method in a cohort of hospitalised palliative care patients. Results The results demonstrated a high level of agreement between radar-based and gold standard respiratory rate monitoring (n=13, correlation r=0.93, 88% of respiratory rates within +/- 2 breaths). Further analyses indicated a potential for symptom recognition. Conclusion The findings suggest that radar-based respiratory rate monitoring is reliable under clinical conditions and has the potential to detect symptoms.